ERP is often misinterpreted as a system only suited for large, multinational corporations that have been established for hundreds of years and turn over tens of millions of pounds. It is often assumed that only larger companies will reap the benefits, but the truth is quite different. ERP solutions can be just as beneficial for smaller companies, if not more so. Some questions we often get asked are;

The journey taken by a product/service often provides a detailed insight into the reasons and purpose of the initial project. Although at face value MIETrak appears to be a modern piece of software that has only been around for the last 10 years or so, its story and history paint a completely different picture.

In today’s world, having one system that manages everything is becoming more and more popular. There are companies that offer complete packages that include ERP and CAD/CAM software, but are they really sufficient to suit the ever demanding industry? This is where MIE Solutions partnership with Metamation comes into its own. With our partnership, you get two individual companies who are experts in their fields, which combine their market leading solutions to muster a complete manufacturing package.

Quoting is commonly the first process required in order to receive a sales order. Companies go about quoting their products and services differently. There is no right or wrong way as long as you are making profit and the product is as it should be. Manufacturers quoting methods are often determined by a range of factors. One of the main and most common influences is your competition. Going head to head with other manufacturers in order to win a job often drives prices down, and so in order to win the job you may have to forfeit some of your profit margin. On the other hand, some manufacturers costing method is driven by the industry itself. They may have patent on a unique product that sits in a niche market of its own, meaning that they can determine its pricing structure.

MRP is at the forefront of many manufacturers operations and processes, but what does it actually mean and what are the benefits of using it? Firstly, there are in fact two different types of MRP, MRP 1 and MRP 2. MRP 1 stand’s for Material Resource Planning and MRP 2 stands for Manufacturing Resource Planning. The terms sound very similar but they do in fact relate to two different aspects all together.

Quality Control is a large part of many companies workflow processes. With a growing number of industries requiring some sort of quality control compliance, it is compulsory that you understand the concept fully. Accreditations such as ISO9001 require companies to follow a set out guideline that consists heavily on quality control.

Many small to mid-sized manufacturers believe that they can do without an ERP system. They believe that their operation is simple enough that they can control it with a few spreadsheets. Often, this is simply not the case.

ERP is a tool that is there to improve efficiency and give you the tools to make informed decisions. With that said, the purchase of such a system should be viewed as an investment rather than a cost and so you should expect to see a return.

The idea of Enterprise Resource Planning is to make your life easier in every way. It’s there as a central hub of information that is live and easily dissected and manipulated. With the huge amount of data that is processed by these systems, being able to find information you want as quick as possible can be a challenge in itself.